DCFC Bermuda Triangle: Massachusetts I-91 Exit 43 (Greenfield)

[Zcd1]

So much for that upgrade:
https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/applegreen-mass-highway-service-plaza-contract/

Interesting. What's your read on what really happened there?

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[Jonathan S.]

Interesting. What's your read on what really happened there?

My read on this is that the public will never know what really happened.
(Just like the constant stream of scandals in our school district.)

 

[Voltaire]

My read on this is that the public will never know what really happened.

Very likely. It certainly sounds like one of the losing bidders is threatening to tie this up in litigation. I was curious who Global Partners were, so I did some quick searching. There are some press releases from earlier this year trumpeting two EV charging stations they installed in New Hampshire, at a couple of convenience stores. They're Chargepoint, three chargers, and 125KW. Small potatoes compared to the stops on the Mass Pike.

 

[Jonathan S.]

Update on the Mass Pike rest stop upgrade mess:
https://www.nbcboston.com/news/loca...-rest-stops-delayed-at-least-2-years/3869001/

Update on the Station of Mystery:
The most recent work ticket had been August of 2024, after which all work ceased, although it still wasn’t energized.
Finally started working on late November … of 2025.
Today I stopped by after skinning / skiing at the local hill. Close enough that I can delay various car transition activities until I arrive at the station.
That also meant my battery was still at 32F upon arrival and 48F upon departure. Air temp 23F.
But still:

And before that, for a few minutes it was in the teens for kW!
Average was a little over 24 kW:

Amenities include a seasonally closed trinket shop. That’s it.

Also, the cable is short, stiff, heavy, and overall quite awkward.
With nothing to the left of the leftmost charger, I was able to treat it like a pull-alongside charger (as with those chargers that are designed for cars with trailers).
Otherwise, had I needed to drive straight in, only up to a charger and not beyond, would have been quite a struggle, perhaps unsuccessful.

 

[Genau]

Someday when we arrive in paradise, God will inquire as to why we ignored his many clear signs that we were not meant to live where outergarments are necessary. Slow Taycan charging is one of those signs.

 

[Jonathan S.]

Someday when we arrive in paradise, God will inquire as to why we ignored his many clear signs that we were not meant to live where outergarments are necessary. Slow Taycan charging is one of those signs.

Then why did He create the most glorious and noble sport of Ski Mountaineering?
More seriously though, my Taycan IIRC has hit the low 100s in similar conditions. I’ll test this particular charging station again though in the spring. Unless of course it’s entirely broken by then!

 

[Flying ace]

You have a talent for finding the slowest chargers

 

[Zcd1]

Update on the Mass Pike rest stop upgrade mess:
https://www.nbcboston.com/news/loca...-rest-stops-delayed-at-least-2-years/3869001/

Update on the Station of Mystery:
The most recent work ticket had been August of 2024, after which all work ceased, although it still wasn’t energized.
Finally started working on late November … of 2025.
Today I stopped by after skinning / skiing at the local hill. Close enough that I can delay various car transition activities until I arrive at the station.
That also meant my battery was still at 32F upon arrival and 48F upon departure. Air temp 23F.
But still:

And before that, for a few minutes it was in the teens for kW!
Average was a little over 24 kW:

Amenities include a seasonally closed trinket shop. That’s it.

Also, the cable is short, stiff, heavy, and overall quite awkward.
With nothing to the left of the leftmost charger, I was able to treat it like a pull-alongside charger (as with those chargers that are designed for cars with trailers).
Otherwise, had I needed to drive straight in, only up to a charger and not beyond, would have been quite a struggle, perhaps unsuccessful.

What’s the station’s rated max kW?

 

[Jonathan S.]

What’s the station’s rated max kW?

180

 

[Jonathan S.]

You have a talent for finding the slowest chargers

Hasn’t taken much talent in Western Mass and northern New England!
But with Rivian now open to all marques in Brattleboro VT and West Lebanon NH, plus the new MB station in St Johnsbury VT, that era has come to an end.

 

[Flying ace]

Hasn’t taken much talent in Western Mass and northern New England!
But with Rivian now open to all marques in Brattleboro VT and West Lebanon NH, plus the new MB station in St Johnsbury VT, that era has come to an end.

Dial down your enthusiasm. Not all MB stations are Alpitronic units and Rivian also deploys 200 kw units

 

[Jonathan S.]

Dial down your enthusiasm. Not all MB stations are Alpitronic units and Rivian also deploys 200 kw units

The Rivian stations have been flawless for me during four stations. Except for how my credit card has now been declined three times. After the session. Yes, that’s right, Rivian has let me charge for free three times. I’m going to try to fix that with my credit card company since I don’t want to get blacklisted by Rivian or anything like that!

The new MB in St J VT has 12 chargers, 24 plugs, 400kW if solo at a charger. Looking forward to charging there so that I can hit my max for only the second time (first being EVolve NY).

Meanwhile, back in the realm of DGAF CCS1 DCFC, stopped at a nearby CFI on which a small town blew $2.46m of taxpayer money on four plugs.
CC reader wasn’t working, whether phone or physical card.
Called the posted phone number for Autel. Refused to help me. Said it was the responsibility of the station owner, ie the town. Said they would make an exception such that if I provided my email address then someone would eventually get back to me. But no, not real time assistance in initiating a charger.

 

[Zcd1]

Meanwhile, back in the realm of DGAF CCS1 DCFC, stopped at a nearby CFI on which a small town blew $2.46m of taxpayer money on four plugs.
CC reader wasn’t working, whether phone or physical card.
Called the posted phone number for Autel. Refused to help me. Said it was the responsibility of the station owner, ie the town. Said they would make an exception such that if I provided my email address then someone would eventually get back to me. But no, not real time assistance in initiating a charger.

What am I missing here? What's the point of building a charging station and then not supporting it or ensuring that it actually works?

Out of curiosity, where is this site located?

 

[Jonathan S.]

What am I missing here? What's the point of building a charging station and then not supporting it or ensuring that it actually works?

Out of curiosity, where is this site located?

It's this:
https://driveelectric.gov/news/deerfield-ma-cfi-charging-station
... which is the same as this:
https://www.iberkshires.com/story/6...-Celebrate-3.9-Million-for-Greylock-Glen.html
... which was on my mind as I was skinning up Mt Greylock yesterday when I saw your post.

What does a $2.46m four-port DCFC station in Deerfield MA have in common with a $12m (total cost, including site infrastructure improvements and cost overruns) outdoor visitor center in Adams MA?

A small municipality (~5k pop Deerfield, ~8k Adams) receives a windfall from some combination of MA & U.S. gov't for millions of dollars for a complex municipally owned asset that the municipality is incapable of maintaining and operating.

So Autel refuses to provide any real-time support to EV drivers trying to charge at the $2.46m station.
I have received fairly prompt responses from the apparently well-meaning assistant town administrator. But the guy is probably tasked with so many different responsibilities that I doubt he's an expert in EV charging issues, and he certainly can't provide real-time support.

So Adams is able to keep the $12m visitor center open for visitors only five days a week.
And only from 10a to 5p each day.
Want to stop by put on your ski boots inside before 10a, or even just use the restroom then?
Nope. (And no, the design didn't include any outdoor-accessible bathrooms, like the clever setup at, say, the Brattleboro VT I-91 northbound rest stop.)
Want to kick back inside after a day of skiing (or hiking, or fat biking, or snowmobiling, or whatever-ing) after 5p?
Nope.
Want to get something to eat or drink from the large commercial kitchen and serving area anytime, any day?
Nope. (Unless you count the water fountain?)
How about a gear storage space (even just a shed) for all the tools used by the local trail maintenance club (of which I am a member and participant) so that people can ski and mtn bike?
Nope.
How about a first aid room for the ski patrol (of which I am a member, and whose fellow members supported the ski mountaineering race I used to organize there)?
Nope.
Unless you count the nurse's room.
No, the facility does not have a nurse.
But it does have a room with a professionally printed sign that says:
NURSE
(No first aid supplies or anything like that in the room. But the sign is highly professional.)

Fortunately the skiing was great despite all this:
https://www.strava.com/activities/16961303787

 

[Zcd1]

It's this:
https://driveelectric.gov/news/deerfield-ma-cfi-charging-station
... which is the same as this:
https://www.iberkshires.com/story/6...-Celebrate-3.9-Million-for-Greylock-Glen.html
... which was on my mind as I was skinning up Mt Greylock yesterday when I saw your post.

What does a $2.46m four-port DCFC station in Deerfield MA have in common with a $12m (total cost, including site infrastructure improvements and cost overruns) outdoor visitor center in Adams MA?

A small municipality (~5k pop Deerfield, ~8k Adams) receives a windfall from some combination of MA & U.S. gov't for millions of dollars for a complex municipally owned asset that the municipality is incapable of maintaining and operating.

So Autel refuses to provide any real-time support to EV drivers trying to charge at the $2.46m station.
I have received fairly prompt responses from the apparently well-meaning assistant town administrator. But the guy is probably tasked with so many different responsibilities that I doubt he's an expert in EV charging issues, and he certainly can't provide real-time support.

So Adams is able to keep the $12m visitor center open for visitors only five days a week.
And only from 10a to 5p each day.
Want to stop by put on your ski boots inside before 10a, or even just use the restroom then?
Nope. (And no, the design didn't include any outdoor-accessible bathrooms, like the clever setup at, say, the Brattleboro VT I-91 northbound rest stop.)
Want to kick back inside after a day of skiing (or hiking, or fat biking, or snowmobiling, or whatever-ing) after 5p?
Nope.
Want to get something to eat or drink from the large commercial kitchen and serving area anytime, any day?
Nope. (Unless you count the water fountain?)
How about a gear storage space (even just a shed) for all the tools used by the local trail maintenance club (of which I am a member and participant) so that people can ski and mtn bike?
Nope.
How about a first aid room for the ski patrol (of which I am a member, and whose fellow members supported the ski mountaineering race I used to organize there)?
Nope.
Unless you count the nurse's room.
No, the facility does not have a nurse.
But it does have a room with a professionally printed sign that says:
NURSE
(No first aid supplies or anything like that in the room. But the sign is highly professional.)

Fortunately the skiing was great despite all this:
https://www.strava.com/activities/16961303787

At first glance, that looks to be the most direct evidence of pork-barrel spending that I’ve ever seen.

What am I missing? Is it indeed an inspirational space that will be the driver of dramatic new development that will benefit the larger area, as the assembled pols seemed to say?

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